Machine for coating back seams of shoe uppers



H. PHILLIPS Sept. 15, 1953 MACHINE FOR comma BACK SEAMS OF SHOE UPPERS Filed Aug. 26, 195i 3 Sheets-Sheet l r3 Phillip;

fnvenior Ha r Sept. 15, 1953 H. PHILLIPS 2,652,021

MACHINE FOR COATING BACK SEAMS OF SHOE UPPERS Filed Aug. 26, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Sept. 15, 1953 H. PHILLIPS I 2,552,021

MACHINE FOR COATING BACK SEAMS OF SHOE UPPERS Filed Aug. 26, 1951 3 Shets-Sheet 3 Patented Sept. 15, 1953 MACHINE FOR COATING BACK SEAMS F SHOE UPPERS Harry Rhillips, Beverly, Mass., assignor to United 'S h" 'c oration, Flemingt'on, N. J afoorp ration of New Jersey hinery Corp A plicat 4 n1 2 1951, Serial No. 223,086

Qlairns, (Cl. l 18-2) This invention relates; to machines for. applying flexible plastic. materi in 'l iduid forth to the back seams of shoej i lpgersl, "I hemachine arranged to support the u er ianinside-out condition and to apply th plasticfmaterial to the seam ridge an the e. 'e nt mftih The back seam of a {3 upper is usually formed by a n the. W9; st r er i .ehp posed position with the display. faces in contact and stitching the; parts together along a line close to he r eeredse thus .f lq m the he k seam. It will berealized ever, that this seam must be spaced asuiiicigv istance from the edges so that there will be enough-strength in the materials to prevent the stitches from pulling through the leather. result there is a projecting ridge antheinns face of the upper which may be a source; of; discomfort to the wearer and which is freq ently inf orced as by means of a strip of. fabric secured adhesively over the ridge. Before-such a strip is applied it is customary practice to flatten the seam by pr ssure usually pplied pro res iv y Som instances have been foundwhere ther as, ee an oozing of the counter paste through the back seam.

An important objectnfthe present invention is to provide an improved'machine for applying a flexible plastic coatingto. theback seams of shoes. One featurev of the invention resides in the provision, in such a. machine, ofa U-shaped frame on opposite arms of which are mounted driven feed rolls. .These feed: rolls coact with an upper which is supported upon a rotatable supporting roll between .the:.feed:-.rolls.and the application of the plasticmaterialis effected by extrusion through a. nozzle..disposed.- above the seam ridge.

The mounting ofitheieed'rollsis such that the upper is drawn down tightly overzthe supporting roll at the sametime that the...feed rolls. are effective to carry th seam progressively past the extruding nozzle throughwlii'ch inaterial isv applied to cover the seam ridge. and, it may be, to fill the hollows on either side-of that ridge,

The desirability of preventing. the extrusion of the coating materialuponthe supporting. roll of the machine between successive pieces of work will be obvious and in accordancewithanother feature of the invention a sensitive fe'eler is provided which rests upontheupper ahead of the nozzle as it passes through the machine and is effective to vactuate.aopower means for shutting a valve located in themassaggbetwe a pressure-providing pumpzanduthe ;.'nozzle, thus stopping the flow of coating material before the work leaves the nozzle.

These and other features of the machine will best be understood from a consideration of the following specification, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the machine;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail, partly in section, taken on the line III III of Fig. 2i

Fig. i is a detail of the control valve for the nozzle with a piece of work supported in the machine for treatment;

Fig. 5 is a detail, in front elevation, of a supporting roll and an upper at the point of contact of the feeler; and

Fig. 8 is a View of the end face of the nozzle showing one particular contour of its Work contacting endl The illustrative machine is arranged for operation upon a work piece W, a fragment of which is shown in Figs; 4 and 5, which comprises a pair of quarters 'joined together by a line of stitching S and turned inside out, leaving a seam ridge R. Before treatment here, the seam will usually have been pressed or reduced, as shown in Fig; 5. As presented to the coating machine, the ridge R projects upwardly and the work piece rests upon a work support comprising a stationary center disk Hi, with rounded recesses ii, and upon a supporting roll having freely rotatable frusto conical side partions 12. The Work is guided over this support by means of a guide It received in the seam crease, said guide having a' bulge It at itsen'dwhich is received in one of the recesses ll to hold the disk It against rotation. A feeler l6, grooved to straddle the seam, rests on the upper at each side of the seam ridge B. As the work passes beneath a nozzle is, which may be provided with a notch 28 (Fig. 6) coasting with" the seam ridge R, it is fed along by feed rolls 22 which will be later described and which pull the work progressively past thenozzle and draw it tightly over the work support iii, [2.

These operating instrumentalities are mounted upon a frame 'having'a'base 24 (Fig. 1), a cross rib 25, and an upright 26'. The latter is provided with a laterally extending web 28 carrying an extruding mean (Fig. 1) and with a bracket 39 supporting the driven feed rolls ,22 The outer portion of the bracket is substantially U -shaped as may be seen from 3 and has a drive shaft 32 p ss h qus the top f the inverted U- 5 d? Q T QIL QI 121 il-shaped bracket are hollowed to receive trains of driving gears 34 protected by end covers 35 and 31. The gears 34 impart rotation to the stub shafts 36 and 38 on which are carried the feed rolls 22. These rolls as may be seen from Fig. 3 are frusto conical in axial section and have toothed faces for engaging the inner surfaces of the work piece on either side of the back seam. The shaft 38 is fixed against end play in the bracket while the shaft 36 is provided with an internally contained spring 40 by means of which it is urged axially to insure that the work is gripped frictionally by the feed rolls against the work support rolls I2. In principle, this arrangement is substantially like that shown in Letters Patent of the United States No. 2,513,464, granted July 4, 1950, on the application of H. D. Elliott. These rolls 22 are driven both in the same direction as indicated by the arrows in Fig. and are disposed so that they are effective first to draw the upper tightly over the top of the supporting rolls I2 and then to carry it forward beneath the nozzle I8. Power for operating the drive shaft 32 is supplied through an extension shaft 42 journaled in a bearing (Fig. 1) in the upright 26 and connected by sprocket and chain v44 to a driven power shaft 46 provided with fast and loose pulleys 48 and 50.

The stationary work supporting roll I0, held against turning by the end of the seam crease guide I4, is mounted on a pivot 5| in a plunger 52 (Fig. 2) yieldably mounted in a carrier 54, substantially as described in the above-mentioned patent to Elliott. This carrier is secured to a tiltable plate 56 which is pivotally mounted by means of a rod 51 in a block 58 on the base and may be locked in the operative position illustrated in the drawings by a spring pin 60, having a handle 62, and cooperating with a socket 64 (Fig. 1) in said block 58. If the work pieces being treated are closed uppers, these are allowed to accumulate in a stack around the upstanding portion of the carrier 54 and may readily be removed by pulling out the spring-pressed bolt 60 and tilting the carrier forward out of operative relation to the driven parts of the machine. This carrier is also utilized for supporting the seam crease guide I4.

The nozzle I8, through which the flowable material is delivered to the seam ridge R and the adjacent portions of the work W, is constructed substantially as shown in Figs. '7 and 8 of Letters Patent of the United States No. 2,353,738, granted July 18, 1944, upon the application of W. L. MacKenzie except that the Work contacting end has a different contour. The nozzle comprises an inner plate I0 (Fig. 4) and an outer plate 12 which are attached by means of screws to a valve block I4. The inner plate I0 is provided with an inlet opening I6 connecting with a groove I8 in that plate. The lower end of the groove I8 communicates with a recess 80 in the other plate (see also Fig. 6). It will be noted that the plate I0, which rests upon the work, is slightly longer than the plate I2 the lower end of which is spaced above the work and thus determines the thickness of the coating applied.

In the valve block I4 is a valve 8I having an annular seat closed by a conical head 82 on a stem 84 which is slidably mounted in a packing block 86 and pressed against the annular seat by means of a spring 88. This valve is situated in a passage 90 joining the inlet I6 of the nozzle and to which the flowable material is supplied through a vertical passage 92 communicating with the outlet of a gear pump 94 (Fig. 2) contained within a chamber at the bottom of a casing 96 to which this valve block I4 is secured. The casing 96 also includes a receptacle I00 having a sloping bottom I02 and provided with a heating unit I04. The latter is operated under the control of a thermostat I06. The gear pump 34 is driven by power supplied to a vertical shaft I I0 connected by spiral gears to a horizontal shaft I I2 (Fig. 1) having a pulley II4 driven by a crossed belt II5 leading to a pulley IIS on the shaft 42. A screw having a thumb piece I I8 controls the tension of a spring pressing against a valve (not shown) in a by-pass around the pump, thus regulating the pressure at the nozzle.

Power to operate the movable valve head 82 is supplied by a solenoid I supplied from any suitable source and mounted on the web 28 of the frame. The solenoid has a core which is mechanically connected to a two-arm lever I22, I23 pivoted in a bracket I24 forming part of a plate I26 which is screwed to the casing 96 of the extruding apparatus E. The upper portion I22 of the solenoid-operated lever is pinned to a shaft I28 at the right end of the bracket I24 (Fig. 1) While the depending slotted lower end I23 of the lever is mounted on the other end of the shaft I28 in a forked end I30 of the bracket I24. This slotted end I23 engages a cross pin I32 (Figs. 2 and 4) in a block I34 on a stem 84 of the valve and abutting a nut thereon. When the solenoid is energized the lever I22, I23 is effective to open the valve 8I against the tension of its spring 88.

The feeler IS, with its grooved lower end straddling the seam ridge R (Fig. 5), is supported on a rod I journaled in a bracket I42 (Fig. 1), attached by a screw to the bracket 30 which supports the feed rolls, and is provided with an upwardly extending arm I44 secured to the end of the rod I40 and having a stop screw I46 which engages a portion of the bracket 30 to limit the downward movement of the feeler I6. The upper end of the arm I44 is connected by an adjustable link I48 (Fig. 2) to a bell crank I50 pivoted in a block I52 also attached to the bracket 30. The outer end of the bell crank is positioned beneath a button I54 on a sensitive switch I56 in circuit with the solenoid winding. The switch is carried by the Web 28 with the result that a very small movement of the feeler I6 is suflicient to energize the solenoid I20. Inasmuch as the feeler I6 is placed infront of the nozzle I8 (Fig. 2) it will actuate the switch I56 slightly before the work reaches the nozzle, thus giving time for the small amount of plastic between the valve head 82 and the nozzle outlet to be set in motion so that there no delay in applying the plastic to the work. For the same reason the work will leave the feeler I6 before it leaves the nozzle and thus allow any surplus material in the nozzle itself to ooze out on the work rather than to be deposited on the other parts of the machine.

In the operation of the machine, the back seam crease of an everted upper is placed on the seam crease guide I4 and moved forward over the idle work supporting roll 1I0 until the seam ridge enters the groove in the lower end of the feeler I8 and the laterally adjacent parts of the upper raise the feeler and operate the switch I56 to energize the solenoid I20 thereby opening the'control valve 8 I. Slightly after the work reaches the nozzle I8 it will be engaged by the rotating feed rolls 22 and stretched over the frusto conical sides I2 of the supporting'roll. At the sam time it will be carried forward to move the back seam progressively beneath the nozzle :8 thus applying a coating of flowable plastic material which will form, as soon as it is allowed to dry, a tough flexible covering. As soon as the trailing edge of the upper passes under the feeler it, the switch 56 will be released to deenergize the solenoid I20 and the valve head 82 will be closed by its spring 83. There will be ti e enough, however, between the time when the edge of the upper leaves the feeler and the time when it gets to the nozzle for any residual material under pressure in the nozzle passage to ooze out and be applied to the seam ridge rather than to drip on the work supporting roll H), !2. It thus appears that the back seam is stretched as it is treated and that the resulting coating is applied to a well conditioned seamed upper which, when turned right side out, will have no undue fullness in the leather adjacent to the seam.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a machine of the character described, a frame, a Work supporting roll carried thereby having irusto conical side faces, said frame having a U-shaped bracket, frusto conical. feed. rolls mounted in the sides of said bracket and cooperating with an upper on said supporting roll to draw it tightly over said roll and to carry it forword, a nozzle on the frame directly above said supporting roll, and means for extruding a fiowable material through said nozzle for application to the seam ridge of an upper on the supporting roll.

12. In a machine of the character described, a support for an everted back seam of a shoe upper, said seam forming a ridge, means for engaging the upper at opposite sides of the seam ridge to press it against the support and move it progressively over said support, means adjacent to the support to apply a ilowabl material to the backseam ridge, and means responsive to the presence of a piece of work on the support for delivering material to the applying means.

3. In a machine of the character described, a support for an inverted back seam of a shoe upper, means beside the support for engaging the upper at opposite sides of the seam ridge for moving it progressively over said support, a nozzle positioned over the support, means to supply fiowable material under pressure to said nozzle, a control valve interposed between the nozzle and the supply means, and a movably mounted work-feeler-means for operating said valve.

4. In a machine of the character described, a support for an inverted back seam of a shoe upper, said seam forming a ridge, driven means for engaging the upper on the support at opposite sides of the seam ridge for moving it progressively over said support, a nozzle supported adjacent to the work support and positioned over the back seam, means to supply flowable material under pressure to said nozzle, a control valve interposed between the nozzle and the supply means, a solenoid to operate said valve, a switch for said solenoid, and a work-engaging ieeler operatively connected to said switch to control said valve-operating solenoid.

5. In a machine of the character described, a frame, a support thereon for an inverted back seam of a shoe upper, rolls on the frame for engaging the upper at opposite sides of the seam ridge to draw it against the support and to move it progressively over said support, a nozzle on the frame and having its outlet adjacent to the back seam of an upper on the support, power-operated means to supply flowable material under pressure to the nozzle, a control valve interposed between the supply means and the nozzle, a power-actuated device for operating said valve, and a sensitive feeler resting on the work carried by the support ahead of the nozzle controlling the power device which operates the valve.-

HARRY PHILLIPS.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,140,450 Etheridge May 25, 1915 1,810,223 Peterson June 16, 1931 1,890,017 MacDonald Dec. 6, 1932 

